OCC Thread

[ChubbyPixie]

He'll be back. I just know it. Who could bail on the middle of a uni-bunny battle? No one, that's who.

[Sir Clarence]

He'll be back. I just know it. Who could bail on the middle of a uni-bunny battle? No one, that's who.

[Grognardsw]

He'll be back. I just know it. Who could bail on the middle of a uni-bunny battle? No one, that's who.

[ragnboneshopper]

Ha ha, that's awesome, Grog! Indeed, rumors of my demise were premature, though I did get caught up in the blizzard and cold.

Delayed flight in Phoenix + missed connecting flight in Minneapolis + blizzard/polar vortex + canceled flight the next day = rental car and an all-night drive on the heels of the blizzard and only two hours sleep that whole day. That was a real adventure, no visibility between Chicago and Elkhart, Indiana, the trucks on the highway were like ghosts, but I made it home about three days before Delta would've got me here.

And since then it's just been putting the pieces of real life back together, as I had a freelance deadline in addition to all the shoveling, a leaky roof, etc, etc. You all know how it goes. But I'm back and just about ready to start up again. I figure I should have an update by tomorrow night, so stay tuned, and thanks for your patience and well-wishes. You're all the best!

[saalaria]

A proper RL adventure RS!...well Im glad to hear you're okay and getting back on track. We are all ready and waiting for more from the uni-bunnies!

[ragnboneshopper]

"Once the number three, being the number of the counting, be reached, then lobbest thou the Holy Hand Grenade in the direction of thine foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it."

[ragnboneshopper]

Will get an update posted by tonight guys. Had to help my brother move during a blizzard. It's February, right? Spring training soon, right?

[Grognardsw]

It took me a while to find this so for quick future reference I'm putting it here.

Elf and Half and Dwarf and Man
Wizard, archer and halberdier
Priest, strider and swordsman
And hence did the lizardine appear?

Are they villains? Are they heroes?
Are they lost, or true and straight?
Where doth does this brave band goes?
They number o'er six, but less than eight.

In the forest, hear me sing
Marvel, wonder, oh so bright!
See me dance and cavort keen.
Will there be a feast tonight?
Lost and weary, so they say
Will they leave or will they stay?

Eye upon an isle shining
Isle upon a lake a-resting
Lake beyond a river flowing
And band upon a forest questing

So where are now, the stones a-ringing?
Where are they, the short ones singing?
Where is he, the traveler seeking?
Where is it, the eye a-gleaming?

Where now are the smith and fighter? Where are now the beards a-growing?
Where now are the axe and the hammer? Where is now the ale a-flowing?
Where are treasures kept a-gleaming, and red forges once a-glowing?
Where the Rocs are now a-nesting? And proud travelers a-coming?
Where is now feminine laughter? Where is now the prance and jolly?
Where are now my sisters of yore, with all their freecare folly?
Where are happy days gone by, and the dancing under the moon?
Where are the tales and memories, of all those departed so soon?

They have all long passed away
Like melting snow on mountain
And none shall see them today
But still found may be their fountain

They have all vanished from lore
They have all faded to night
And none shall see them no more
But their legacy still shines bright

For upon this land a doom has fall
With no escape for one and all
Where once pale limbs did water lap
Now only dark wings do make their flap
Where once upon the beauties sung
Now only chords of death are rung
Where once none where known to die
Now only fools and weak ones lie

Who shall gather the secrets, and mysteries that need finding?
Who will sail downriver, along the flow that's winding?
Who will punish the Dark ones, who once their kin were killing?
Who shall see the Serpent's Eye, and with brave tales returning?

So are they villains? Or are they heroes?
And are they lost, or true and straight?
And where doth does this brave band goes,
These who're over six, but less than eight?
In the forest, they heard me sing
Saw me dance and cavort keen.
Marveled, wondered, oh she's so bright!
Shall we have that feast tonight?
And lost and weary, or so they say
But will they leave or will they stay?

[ChubbyPixie]

So, the Serpent's Eye seems to be an Island in a lake, right? Presumably the one at the end of this river, the serpent. Though one of you may already have pointed that out, come to think of it. I'm a bit slow on the uptake...

[ChubbyPixie]

So, the Serpent's Eye seems to be an Island in a lake, right? Presumably the one at the end of this river, the serpent. Though one of you may already have pointed that out, come to think of it. I'm a bit slow on the uptake...

Ha! - So I wrote that then got caught up on the latest posts. I must have psychically sensed their content.
Anyway, this mound looks suspiciously like a serpent's head. Just saying.

[ragnboneshopper]

So I'll just say, as I've hinted at also in the newest IC update, that the "Serpent's Eye" by all accounts seems to be an island further downriver. You can be fairly sure that if your destiny is to go to the Serpent's Eye, you've not yet reached it.

One thing we need to start thinking about, which I've been avoiding to some extent , is the rewarding of XP and distribution of treasure. I think the idea was originally to wait until the "end" of this first adventure, but I'm curious what you all think of that, and I don't like the feeling of a mountain of calculating building and building up that is just going to get harder and harder for me to tackle when the time comes. I doubt that any of you would be at 2nd level yet anyway, maybe Stonjuz I guess, but even there I'm somewhat eager to spur things on a bit, with maybe some extra XP awards for enemies defeated, spells cast to good effect, thieving skills used, and so on, based on playing to the strengths of your character class.

What do you all think? Would you like some XP awards sooner than later, or do you prefer to wait until there is "closure" on this adventure? I certainly intend to keep the campaign going as long as players want to play, but I have this sense that a slight change of pace would be good and that we're coming up to an opportunity to ease into that change, even if the module isn't completely played out yet.

Let me know your thoughts, and thanks for being such great players!

[Grognardsw]

Given it could take many months to finish this (which is not a bad thing), getting periodic XP along the way is nice.

[saalaria]

Yes I like to receive xp periodically - I like the sense of progression it gives even though it doesn't mean much withoout levelling!

[Sir Clarence]

Getting a few XP from time to time would be cool.

[onlyme]

xp and random gold is always a nice gift for a lost warrior. Not sure about levelling up. You would have to decide if it messes up the balance of the module.

[Stonjuz]

makes no matter to me

[zebediah]

Of course it would be nice, specially if it eases your work later on.

[ragnboneshopper]

All right, I'll work on that and hopefully have some XP for you all by the end of tomorrow along with a clearer expectation of how I'll reward bonuses according to character class.

[ragnboneshopper]

Ok, so I'm awarding everyone 1,493 XP at this point. I'm glossing a lot of things here, so I hope you'll be patient with it. A few things to note:

1) I'm dividing the XP for monsters evenly, even though I know a few characters were not involved from the beginning of the adventure. From here on, I'll attempt to take that into account, but it doesn't seem worth it to go back and split hairs at this point.

2) Part of this number is 250 XP for each of your characters, related to using your character class abilities. Did you all actually earn exactly 250? I doubt it, but it gets us "caught up" and seems reasonable to me without my having to scour the action threads (I've estimated you've all earned an extra 50 XP each in half of the 10 action threads we've completed, which comes to 250 XP/each).

In the future, I'll award these as they happen, based on the following:

Solo Experience Awards

- Solo Kills (fighters, rangers, paladins; 25 XP per HD of creature slain w/out aid of anyone else)

- Successful Spell Use (clerics, magic users, druids, illusionists; 50 XP per level of spell, awarded for dangers, puzzles, or monsters thwarted by virtue of spell use alone)

- Prominent Skill Use (thieves, assassins; 25 XP per party member "aided" in a dangerous situation [including self] or 50 XP per special item/50 gp of treasure obtained by skill use


3) I'm not going to use the usual 1 gp = 1 XP reward for treasures. For one, this campaign so far is treasure light, but that doesn't adequately account for the many challenges you've faced. So part of your XP rewards will be on a per-challenge basis. Basically, every time we finish an action thread, I'll award each surviving/participating character 50 XP per character level. This should scale fairly well with treasures obtained and keeps me from having to spend time making calculations and keeping records I don't want to spend time on. All I have to do is keep the game challenging and fun...

4) This brings me to the last item of note, the claiming of treasures. Since I'm not going to be tracking XP based on the treasure you're hauling out of dungeons, the only thing I care about is noting who has what item. I will keep a list of unclaimed treasure and items, and once someone has claimed it, I will take it off the list. So, please confirm who is carrying/how you want to divide the following. We'll do this on a first-come, first-serve basis, but of course please negotiate as appropriate, and remember that some of you have already stated that you've taken some of these; I've noted items that I think are already claimed but may have missed or mistaken some...


Unclaimed Monies Obtained

56 gold pieces

38 copper pieces

16 silver pieces


Unclaimed Treasure Found

Semiprecious pebbles (Stonjuz?)

Golden rod, serpent design (dwarven rune for "transform"; magical) (Thurinor?)

Fire opals x6 (from harpies) (Ogirdor?)

Onyx stone (50 gp value)

Gold-mounted whetstone (serpent design)

Two-handed sword, Gravenvolk/dwarf make, serpent designs ("hewer of serpents") (Malone? or Oz?)

Bottles, apparent liquor, x4 (three golden, one caramel-colored) (Stonjuz?)

Amulet, golden serpent (Thurinor?)

Ivory box, inlaid with silver and coral (small) (Ogirdor?)

Gold earrings x3 (Og?)

Electrum bangle (Og?)

Jade serpent pendant w/silver mount (Og?)

[Sir Clarence]

This means that Andrin has leveled.